


with eyes turned forwards

by Mertiya



Series: Fire Emblem Missing Scenes [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ficlet, Gen, M/M, Missing Scene, Missing in Action
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-30 23:20:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20455220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mertiya/pseuds/Mertiya
Summary: Linhardt reflects on his feelings for Byleth after Byleth's disappearance.





	with eyes turned forwards

**Author's Note:**

> hhhhhh I haven't finished the game yet but I needed to throw out this little scene because I ship it so hard y'all. also marianne and linhardt are bffs and you can't convince me otherwise.

The sun is setting beneath the ruins of Garreg Mach. Linhardt watches it fall. The stone beneath him is warm, but though he feels an inexpressible weariness, he does not particularly desire sleep. It’s not unconsciousness he fears, but the loss of control of his thoughts dreams may bring.

He hears soft footsteps along the path behind him and turns tiredly to see that Marianne is picking her way up through the scattered rubble toward him. Her blue hair is escaping from its usual tight braids, and there’s a smear of blood on the back of her hand. Probably not hers. Probably from healing someone, not from harming them. Probably.

“Edelgard—I mean Emperor Edelgard is looking for you,” she says as she approaches him.

“I’m sure she’ll find me soon enough,” Linhardt replies quietly as he goes back to watching the sun set. The red glow is retreating and where it retreats it leaves the stones charred and grey and cold.

“She’s worried, I think,” Marianne explains. “Perhaps about everyone. I suppose that’s her duty, isn’t it?” She stops at his shoulder, pushing a hank of hair behind her ear. “I’m worried about you,” she murmurs, barely audible.

Linhardt opens his eyes as wide as they will go. “About me?” He chuckles. “What’s to worry about? Do you think I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately? Even without a featherbed, I’m quite adept at it.”

“Will you sleep as well tonight?” Marianne asks.

“Why wouldn’t I?” He’s aware the phrase holds more venom than his words usually do, and he bites his lip. “I don’t know,” he admits. It’s easy to admit to Marianne, when she’s already admitted so much to him, showed him so much of her own pain, a pain he never quite understood. His emotions tend toward the muter side, at least from what he can tell from observing others. Even now, he’s not really sure what he’s feeling.

He knows Marianne isn’t very comfortable with touches, so he doesn’t touch her, just looks up at her, taking comfort from her presence. Somehow they’ve become close. Somehow they’ve become friends. Somehow, with her, it was easy. Linhardt isn’t very good at making close friends, although he seems to have more than he thought he did, but with her it was easy.

There isn’t much light left now. He swallows, fighting against the loss of sight the twilight brings. “I met him at the Goddess Tower,” he says very softly. “The Professor. Byleth. I just, I just had a feeling, and I waited—” He closes his eyes. He can still see the momentary surprise in Byleth’s eyes; he can still see the moment it gave way to a flicker of tenderness and a warm smile Linhardt selfishly hoped was just for him. “We promised we’d meet there again,” he says. “So, you see, he can’t be dead. He’d be breaking his promise, but he’s much too stubborn for that. And he’s come back before.” He forces a smile onto his face and glances over at Marianne, who is looking at him with a mix of emotions he doesn’t recognize.

“He’s very stubborn,” she agrees. “I didn’t know that you—felt that way about him.”

Linhardt ducks his head, feeling his cheeks get a little warm. “I don’t know how to describe it,” he says. “It just—happened. I don’t really know if he felt—if he feels the same, but he did promise. So I believe he’ll be back. He won’t leave us. He won’t—he won’t leave—”

He can’t finish the words, so Marianne finishes for him. “He won’t leave you,” she says in her gentle voice. “I understand.”

“We just have to wait long enough.” Linhardt finds himself reaching out towards the darkening fortress, as if he can reach into it and drag Byleth out from wherever he’s vanished off to. “We just have to wait. Until the future comes.”

“Until the future comes,” Marianne echoes, and the last thin red rays of the sun vanish beneath the top of the hill.


End file.
